Grace Journeys

What is a Curator?

grace-journey

Curator – One who bring meaning and interpretation to a collection, a textual editor, whose background and attention to the content brings clarity and focus to the observer of it.

This ministry is in development, with its launch anticipated in the late 2014. I will be the Curator of an online and real time spiritual community called Grace Journeys

Grace Journeys is a place to explore the largeness of God’s horizon in a particular way each of us can feel divinity embracing our humanity.

So what is grace?

Grace summarizes the character of the Divine for which we most innately yearn… unconditional love, abundant joy, unshakable peace… and a nurturing presence, and advocacy, that reminds us we are never meant to feel alone…or without hope in our lives Grace reveals in each of us who we really are…because Grace flows from the heart of our Creator, our Designer…God

Beyond our learned boundaries and limited histories…we are

  • more than what we have so far seen,
  • more than our bank account says,
  • more than our supervisors observe,
  • more than our critics…or even our friends…may perceive
  • we are more than the roles we play in our family, church, or social networks…and
  • we are more than our bodies give testimony to

So What Does It Mean to Journey with Grace?

Grace individualizes our experience of God and of ourselves in the divine image…so we not only intellectually “know” but powerfully “feel” the divine impetus that we are more than we know ourselves to be.

But, that larger identity, is not just some wish for a possibility that we imagine… it is the fact of who Grace already sees us to be

The wonderful news is that how we come to experience this larger horizon through Grace reflects the breadth of the divine character…as well as the specificity, or customization, of how each of us learns, grows, and journeys

Divinity embraces humanity right where each human presently is…each journey has a starting point. But no journey remains where it begins.

What is the Relationship Between Grace Journeys and Religious Beliefs?

Grace comes to each of us in highly individualized ways that insure that our encounters with Grace cannot be confined to one rigidly conceived “right” way or form of practice or belief

Grace embodies the essence of the best moments many of us have had in religious communities, it is also the antidote for all the frustrating experiences we’ve had

Grace Journeys may actually help us re-engage faith communities and traditions with a profoundly heart-felt appreciation for what is most essential and healing in those practices

Many Today Identify Themselves as Spiritual but Not Religious

A lot of people have been seeking a more authentic, less confining and judgmental pattern for spiritual growth. In doing so these thoughtful individuals have celebrated being spiritual and not religious

But after some time and some good lessons learned, many are seeking a deeper well to support their journey than they were able to find in just their own experiences

Surveys indicate that an increased number of individuals are now wanting to identify as being both spiritual and religious. However, they are re-defining what it means to be religious.

Many observers of the spiritual landscape today comment that people aren’t less religious as much as they are becoming differently religious. That can be amazing liberating. It offers the possibility to re-writing scripts and experiences no longer fully feeding audiences. The only down side to this challenge is if our desire, or measure of success, is to bring the forms of the past into the future.

While seeking religious depth, traditions, and community, many people today – and a major portion of those under 50 — are seeking understanding, practices, and more genuine communities that support their individual intuitions about God… their own way of experiencing Her

In other words, they don’t want to re-enter an authoritarian religious system of

  • one size fits all believers,
  • this is the right or wrong way to dress, act, speak, appear, or be present
  • the expectation that you must practice this religion in this way, in this place, at this time every week

People Drawn to Grace Encounters Want Grace Values Represented in a Larger, Broader, and Deeper Affection in Their Spiritual Communities 

Many people don’t want to be in a “club” environment where the insiders are told that they have the Truth and others don’t…or where their religious, let alone their spiritual practices, reflect hostility or judgment towards others

To be authentic, many people today believe spiritual practices should be compassionate towards all, bridge building not wall dividing. Whether calling themselves Christian or not, they see these values as reflecting the character and teachings of Jesus in the gospels…and worthy of being followed

Many people today are feeling that the Bible – along with all manner of sacred teachings — advocate a profound commitment regarding justice towards all people in every dimension of our individual and shared life. There is no authentic or lasting peace without justice.

Justice includes protection and provision for the most vulnerable, those Jesus defined as the most overlooked and marginalized. And it includes – in contemporary language —                                   greater economic fairness, transparency, and democracy for all.

  • The number one issue Jesus mentions in his parables, in 16 or the 38 of them, is how are we thinking and acting about money.
    • Our spiritual life and our openness to Grace depend upon our willingness to more deeply explore the currency by which our egos try to control our lives and relationships.

Finally, many are feeling that Grace is calling them to not only live in greater harmony and understanding with other people and cultures, but with the earth. We are to be stewards, nurturers, and protectors of God’s creation.

So www.GraceJourneys.org (coming in late 2014) is an

  • online community with videos, teaching resources and live interactions,
  • a real time space at conferences and gatherings
  • my blog addressing life issues from a deeply compassionate embrace of humanity. My reflections grow out of my own authentically flawed surrenders to a deeper relationship with God and to trying to follow Jesus in nurturing relationships and community as he defined them.

All of these avenues seek to reflect the values of Grace and embrace those seeking today a…higher ground for life. And I can be reached at richard@highergroundforlife.com

GraceJourneys.org is the blog and website coming in late 2014 to further explore the themes shared here. When GraceJourneys.org arrives, I hope you will engage the discussion there, sample the varied offerings, and deepen your own relationship with Grace.

Join us at Grace Journeys on Facebook too, and be in contact with me as the Curator at gracejourneys@icloud.com

We would also love for you to attend our virtual and live events around the country.

I’ll see you on the journey.